Locked or Not

Can anyone give some feedback on how good the power lok works? if its ok or would you go with something else. I have a Detroit in the rear and was just hoping the power lok will give it that extra little pull over the tough stuff.
Thanks, Scott

 

cant say for sure, but both of my pickup trucks have a similar set up in the rear and it makes a world of difference. so much so that a guy had to chain up the other day to get up the hill where i live and i didnt

 

Thank you for the comments. I have one of those in a front Dana 44 axle that I'm saving for a build. I figured it looked different than stock, but wasn't sure on the brand.

 

Really depends on how you are going to use it. I tend to lift a front tire quite a bit and so far it has only let me down once. Better than open diff and from what I hear not as noticeable as a locker. I can tell mine is there but does not bother me at all.

 

A Power Lok is what you should be running in a Dana 27.
It’s stronger than the stock case, will make a big difference in traction and doesn’t shock load the entire axle assembly the way a ratcheting locker, like one of the “lunch box lockers” available for the Dana 27, can.
I’ve got Power Loks front and rear and love’em. In fact when I get into building my Wagoneer axles for the Corveep, I’m going to run a Power Lok in the rear.

 

Thats what i wanted to hear. i have a detroit in the rear and was just hoping the power lok would give that little extra when needed. thanks for all the help.

 

IMHO a power lok is the way to go for mild wheeling, you get the best of both worlds, extra traction and the ease of turning tight turns

 

I could relate my experience running a Powr-Loc in the D27 in the front of my '66 CJ5, 4.27 ratio.
The rear D44 was still open diff, and the Powr-Loc in the front made a noticeable difference running in the snow, both fronts would pull.

The only time that I had any real problem in steering was when I was trying to back up a steep slope on granite slab up on the Rubicon, trying to get back out to pavement with a blown rear driveline. With only the front axle putting torque on the ground, the Powr-Lok was locked up so tight I couldn't turn the Ross steering until I stepped on the clutch for a moment to unload the torque on the front axle.

The nice thing about a Powr-Lok that I haven't heard anyone say is the fact that it locks up to a variable degree, depending on how much torque is appled. This is because of those V-shaped ramps that the cross shafts ride in. The more torque applied, the higher in the V-ramp the cross shafts move up, and the more clamping pressure is applied to the clutch discs.

 

Indeed. The Powr Lok Research topic has a link to a service bulletin that describes the Operational Theory.
Also, I feel your pain. I’ve had to limp mine home on the front end before and the torque steer from the front is brutal, particularly with just manual steering, and only gets worse with more throttle.

 

Really nice score! Power-loc's are excellent and hard to find! When you pull it apart and clean remember when you reassemble to soak each disc with friction additive while assembling. It has a hard time working it's way in there after it's all together. Herm the overdrive guy will have some good tips for you as well as sells discs and cross shafts for them.

 

Don't open that bottle of "friction modifier" in the house.

 

Another neat thing about this diff,as far as I know, is that it is 'tunable'. By stacking the friction discs one way or the other, you can adjust how much locking or slipping it will do. From what I remember reading, it can be made almost a s tight as a spool, to as loose as you like it.

 

Thanks for all the replies. you all have been very helpful. i cant wait to get the new axle in to seethe braking and wheeling improvements. scott